News

O2 bracing for glut of iPhone returns?

By Charles Starrett ● Wednesday, September 30, 2009

With the announcement of both Orange and Vodafone securing rights to offer the iPhone in the U.K. in the coming months, a number of O2 customers may be looking to take advantage of a two-week window in which they can return their devices and wait for possible better tariff rates and contract terms on competing carriers. The Telegraph reports that as many as 30,000 O2 iPhone customers may be eligible for returns, and the company says it is not planning to offer unhappy users a better deal in order to keep their business. The article suggests that the competition between carriers will knock around £5 (roughly $8) off the average monthly iPhone tariff, resulting in a savings of about £100 (~$160) over the course of a two-year contract. “There will be a price war,” said Steven Hartley, analyst at technology research house Ovum. “Research shows that in every country where there is more than one operator selling it, it is cheaper. It could be very disruptive, but it depends how Orange play it. If they get really aggressive O2 will have to respond and a full-on price war could start.” Orange has yet to disclose its contract terms for the iPhone, but has said they will be less expensive than O2’s plans.

Comments

1

I’ve been with O2 since the original iPhone, I was with Vodafone beforehand, and the massive jump in service quality was unbelievable, since my two years with O2, I’ve never had a dropped call, signal has always been amazing and even though I’ve been waiting two + weeks for my 3GS (which my account manager tells me is Apple’s fault) I shan’t be jumping ship. Vodafone is a terrible network in my opinion, and Orange isn’t any better. I can see that users on Orange will flock to the iPhone for obvious reasons, I really don’t see many abandoning O2 for Orange.

Posted by Tom Dawson on September 30, 2009 at 6:40 PM (CDT)

2

Since switching to the 3GS service on O2 has been diabolical. In central London I get around 20% of dropped calls. I’m not too concerned about price, just decent 3G service would be a reason to switch.

Posted by Tim Harper on September 30, 2009 at 6:59 PM (CDT)

3

I’m probably among many customers kicking themselves right now. When the 3GS was announced it had all the right features for me to jump on board, so I did. I left Orange (where I loved the customer service, had a great plan that, every year, was bettered for loyalty) and got an iPhone 3GS with O2.

I’ve been shocked and appalled at the service O2 is offering and wish I could switch back to Orange. I’m sure hoards of other switchers would go back to their old provider now and get the iPhone if they could.

Posted by Daniel Nicholls on October 1, 2009 at 11:47 AM (CDT)

4

Yep, I’m with Daniel on that one. Only got the iPhone just over 3 weeks ago too! Still I guess something like this always happens whenever you get something new. What is it they say,... “The grass is always greener”? Or should that be “The futures bright”?

Posted by Godfrem on October 1, 2009 at 1:07 PM (CDT)

5

Ive been with o2 for years now and have to say, their customer service is spot on, never had a had dropped call yet, always have full signal AND they have some pretty good deals no matter what your budget. I will however say this, their data speeds are pretty below parr man! i love my iphone but the data speeds compared to those of 3-uk, which i have to moved to, for now, (after jailbreaking and unlocking ofcourse) and their network has made my iphone 5 times better than it was on o2! Data speeds are fantasticaly faster and the actual quality of the pics viewed on the web is crisp
and vivid! Download and conection speeds are alot faster. If o2 would just sort out their data network they could be the best network in the country. I personaly cant
see too many jumping ship yet coz its still a pretty strong carrier and like i said, they do have some pretty good tarrifs and extras to keep many people happy and sticking around for a while yet.

Posted by Rob on October 1, 2009 at 10:05 PM (CDT)

6

I can see why people can say that they’ve had issues with O2’s service, as when I took out my contract there were problems with my contract, however this was soon sorted out via customer service over the phone. My Mother was with Orange last year, and she had nothing but bad luck and shoddy response with their customer services. I am still waiting for my 3GS yes, but that’s mostly Apple’s fault for being terrible at getting the stock to O2.